Objection To Provisions | Eastern NC Now

 Publisher's note: This article was created by ECU News Services.

Faculty Senate reaffirms nondiscrimination policy

 In a meeting on April 19, the East Carolina University Faculty Senate unanimously passed a resolution of support for the university's nondiscrimination policy in objection to provisions of North Carolina's recent passage of House Bill 2.

 The resolution identified several portions of HB2 that conflict with the university's efforts to support a diverse student body, including the bill's exclusion of sexual orientation, gender identity and military status in the regulation of discriminatory practices, and the definition of gender identity as the gender specified on one's birth certificate.

 The Faculty Senate recommended that sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran status continue to be included as protected classes in the ECU nondiscrimination policy. The resolution was drafted and proposed by past Faculty Senate chairs Andrew Morehead and Bob Morrison.

 "We must continue to uphold the principles of free and open exchange of ideas, welcome all to civil discourse of pressing and controversial issues facing our society and the planet," said John Stiller, Faculty Senate chair. "When any of us feels excluded from that discourse or marginalized by discriminatory policies or practices, every one of us is diminished, and we all lose. We must continue to reaffirm our institution's commitment to academic freedom, diversity, openness and inclusiveness at every opportunity."

 The Faculty Senate is the legislative, advisory and primary governance body for faculty representation at the university. For more information, go to http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/fsonline/.